Chapter Forty-Two: Escape

Seeing the other man leap out, Shen Chang’an’s expression darkened. His transportation technique was limited by his perception; its range simply wasn’t enough. The further away, the weaker his force became—he just couldn’t get a hold on Teacher Lu.

Now, Shen Chang’an didn’t care that they were on the third floor. He vaulted out the window in pursuit.

As he leaped outside, he saw that thin figure crash directly to the ground. Yet not a speck of dust was stirred; the man didn’t even pause, sprinting away at once.

“A demonic cultivator, just as I thought!” Shen Chang’an’s heart skipped. The man’s blatant disregard for the laws of physics made him seem almost like a ghost.

He was about to land himself. With a thought, Shen Chang’an activated his transportation technique, letting it drag his body from behind. In this manner, he drifted to the ground as if he had cast a feather-fall spell, landing gently and unscathed.

But just as he was about to touch down, an old wound flared up. Shen Chang’an’s face twisted in pain, and when his foot hit the ground, he twisted his ankle.

“Damn it!” he cursed inwardly. Only a day had passed; his injuries hadn’t healed. Especially his internal wounds—he’d overextended his power in the duel with Li Qingqing, and then exhausted himself fighting Yuan. The damage to his body was serious.

At this critical moment, of all things, he’d twisted his ankle. He wanted to give chase, but couldn’t.

“Where do you think you’re going!” Suddenly, from the side, a figure lunged at the escaping man. It was none other than Sun Yiyuan!

Sun Yiyuan had followed Shen Chang’an upstairs, but Shen Chang’an was too fast; Sun Yiyuan couldn’t keep up and chose not to force the chase. He knew his own abilities—if he really encountered a demonic cultivator, he’d only be a liability.

But now, seeing Shen Chang’an twist his ankle, Sun Yiyuan no longer hesitated, rushing forward recklessly.

Shen Chang’an was moved; for the sake of his daughter’s safety, Sun Yiyuan was truly throwing caution to the wind, daring to risk his life against a demonic cultivator.

He tackled the fleeing man, catching Teacher Lu’s arm and preventing his escape.

Shen Chang’an hobbled over, ignoring his injured foot and hopping forward on his good leg.

Seeing Shen Chang’an approach, Teacher Lu abandoned all pretense. His right arm flickered, becoming translucent and ghostly, then detached entirely.

Sun Yiyuan, still clutching the severed arm, was thrown sprawling. The arm in his hands instantly transformed into a green, spectral ghoul, which seized Sun Yiyuan’s throat, intent on strangling him to death.

Shen Chang’an, seeing this, could not abandon Sun Yiyuan. He quickly drew a Ghost-Slaying Talisman, slapped it onto the phantom, and activated it, shattering the ghostly entity.

But this brief delay allowed Teacher Lu, quick as lightning, to vanish without a trace.

Sun Yiyuan had nearly been strangled; freed from the grip, he coughed violently, tears and mucus streaming down his face in complete disarray.

“Old Sun, are you alright?” Shen Chang’an asked with concern.

Sun Yiyuan waved his hand, finally catching his breath, and immediately asked, “Did you see Xia? Is she upstairs?”

Shen Chang’an frowned. When he’d gone upstairs, he’d only used the Jade Talisman to assess the situation, not closely inspecting the fallen. But aside from the neighbors, there didn’t seem to be any other victims.

“No, I—” He was about to explain when a familiar voice called out nearby, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

Shen Chang’an and Sun Yiyuan turned to see Li Xia returning with a bag of documents.

“Xia, you’re alright! Thank goodness!” Sun Yiyuan exclaimed, standing up and rushing over.

Li Xia snorted, casting a glare at Sun Yiyuan, who stopped in his tracks, sheepish.

Shen Chang’an pursed his lips. “Alright, your father nearly got himself killed for your sake. Don’t be so cold-hearted.”

“Got himself killed?” Li Xia looked surprised, then immediately asked, “What happened?”

Shen Chang’an sighed. “We didn’t even get the chance to do anything—ow—” His ankle twinged, making him gasp in pain.

“Enough. Old Sun, take these talismans, help the people inside. I need to rest a minute…”

Sun Yiyuan hurried to support Shen Chang’an, then turned to Li Xia. “Let’s go inside, we can talk later.”

Li Xia, not knowing what had happened, could only follow. Once inside, seeing the many unconscious people, she realized something was wrong.

Supporting Shen Chang’an, Sun Yiyuan said as they walked, “Old Shen, you’re not looking too good.”

Shen Chang’an forced a smile. “Ran into some trouble before, got hurt.”

Sun Yiyuan’s expression changed slightly, and he whispered, “Trouble even you couldn’t handle? How bad was it?”

Shen Chang’an waved him off, keeping his voice low. “Let’s not talk about it. Catching Teacher Lu is more important now.”

Sun Yiyuan nodded, seeing Shen Chang’an didn’t want to discuss it further.

“Old Shen, you came to help me while injured. I really ought to pay you extra this time.”

Shen Chang’an shook his head, about to refuse, then changed his mind. “No need for more money, but I do have a small favor to ask—can you help me out?”

“Anything. Just say the word,” Sun Yiyuan promised.

Shen Chang’an whispered, “The apartment where I live—my unit—there’s something off about it. It’s full of ghosts.”

Sun Yiyuan’s face changed; he tried to laugh it off. “Come on, Old Shen, I’m no ghost hunter—”

Shen Chang’an gestured for him to relax. “I’ve already subdued them; we coexist peacefully. But I’d like you to check the place—see if there’s a feng shui formation, something that attracts so many spirits to one spot.”

“Ah, well, that’s easy,” Sun Yiyuan replied at once; geomancy was his specialty, after all. If he didn’t dare take that on, he’d have wasted his years of training.

Shen Chang’an nodded. “One other thing—my classmate recommended that apartment. I now suspect there’s something off about him. If you have time, could you look into him for me?”

This was a casual request; Shen Chang’an had already asked Chen Mengchen to investigate. With her abilities, it would be easy. Having Sun Yiyuan check as well was just for cross-verification, so as not to wrongly accuse his classmate.

“That’s easy too. The Special Affairs Bureau can access those records, and since this involves a special incident, it’s part of our regular duties,” Sun Yiyuan said.

Shen Chang’an nodded; by now they’d reached the main hall, and he sat down on a chair. “Go wake everyone up. But you’ll need to come up with an excuse for this mess.”

Sun Yiyuan agreed, starting with the police officers so they could maintain order and assist with the rescue.

Just then, Xiao Liu came running down, spotting Shen Chang’an and the others. “Mr. Shen, um, where’s the suspect?”

Shen Chang’an shook his head, forcing a smile. “There was a problem—he slipped away. Never mind that for now; you and Old Sun, go help those people.”

“Right, okay.”

With Xiao Liu’s help, things went much smoother. Sun Yiyuan first revived the chief, who took charge and directed the others. They then woke all the officers and, one by one, the rest.

Once everyone was safely evacuated with a few convenient excuses, they began dealing with the corpse upstairs.

Shen Chang’an was resting when Li Xia came down.

“Mr. Shen, can we talk?” she asked.

Shen Chang’an looked at her in surprise, but nodded. “Sure, what do you want to ask?”

“It’s about the killer.”

He was taken aback, expecting her to ask about Sun Yiyuan, but she cut straight to the hunt for the murderer.

“Go ahead.”

Li Xia nodded. “Is the killer really Teacher Lu?”

Shen Chang’an exhaled, his tone tinged with emotion. “Faced with such things, even the most honest person can lose control. Teacher Lu just happened to be the one holding the gun…”

“He doesn’t have a gun,” Li Xia interrupted.

Shen Chang’an sighed. “A deadly sorcery is no different from a gun, is it? Now that he’s wounded, I fear his actions will only become more reckless…”

“What do you mean?” Li Xia pressed.

Shen Chang’an gave a wry smile, not revealing everything. Teacher Lu was injured; the five ghosts within him were growing restless—his time was running out. But he hadn’t yet finished settling his scores.

The real issue was, even now, Shen Chang’an and the others didn’t know who Teacher Lu’s enemies were. There’d been so many people in the apartment complex that day—Zhang, the online troll, and the gossipy woman were obvious suspects, but identifying the others Teacher Lu might want revenge on was nearly impossible. Who had mocked him, or insulted his students? No one could say—not even who actually lived in that old complex.

If they spread their forces thin, patrolling everywhere, it would be easy for Teacher Lu to slip through the cracks. The Five Ghosts Killing technique was already difficult enough to detect. The only one who could reliably sense it was Shen Chang’an, thanks to the Jade Talisman and his heightened senses.

“Comrade Li Xia, please be prepared. We must find Teacher Lu as soon as possible—I fear the next victim will appear very soon.”

The less time they had, the more dangerous Teacher Lu would become. If they didn’t catch him quickly, the body count would only rise.

“Fine, if you won’t explain, forget it.” Li Xia snorted and sat down, lost in thought for a long while before asking, “What did Sun Yiyuan do just now?”

Shen Chang’an smiled and explained what Sun Yiyuan had done, adding, “It’s the first time I’ve seen him so brave. Before, he’d have hidden until I’d sorted everything out before showing himself.”

Li Xia’s expression softened, but she quickly said, “Is that so? I must have underestimated him.”

Shen Chang’an shrugged. “Come on, stop being so stubborn. Let him apologize, and forgive him graciously.”

“Hmph, I’ll never forgive him,” she retorted.

Shen Chang’an shook his head and dropped the subject—any more and she’d only get annoyed.

“Well, never mind. My ankle doesn’t hurt anymore. I’ll help the others.” He got up to assist the police with the aftermath.

As he worked, Sun Yiyuan came over.

“Old Shen, Old Shen.”

Shen Chang’an looked up. “What is it? Got something?”

Sun Yiyuan shook his head. “Not a thing. That bastard smashed all the surveillance cameras—there’s not a shred of evidence left.”

Seeing him, Li Xia didn’t linger and went off to help elsewhere.

“Old Shen, is there any way to find this guy directly?”

Shen Chang’an thought for a moment, then spread his hands. “No way.”

“No way?” Sun Yiyuan panicked. “That won’t do, Old Shen—my daughter’s still in danger! She was lucky this time, happened to be in the archives, but what if next time he comes straight for her?”

Shen Chang’an tried to reassure him. “Don’t panic, Old Sun. Honestly, his targets for revenge might not include Li Xia. Think about it—she’s diligent and fair, not one to take sides. If that guy wants revenge, it’s unlikely to be her.”

But Sun Yiyuan, still terrified, insisted, “No, I can’t relax. Old Shen, think—there must be some way to catch him! If we don’t, I…I won’t sleep a wink!”

With tears welling in Sun Yiyuan’s eyes, Shen Chang’an fell silent, pondering whether there might be a way to find him after all.

After a while, a thought struck him. Perhaps… there really was a way to try!